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Bar Point Harbor Breakwater Floats
Float Type: Monolithic Concrete
Owner: US Army Corps of Engineers
Contractor: Western Marine Construction
Manufacturer: TRANSPAC MARINAS / Concrete Technology Corp.
Location: Ketchikan, AK
Date Completed: 2026
Design Features:
Transpac Marinas was contracted to design, engineer, and manufacture the floating concrete breakwater system for Bar Point Harbor in Ketchikan, Alaska.
The original design called for four 240-foot sections for the main breakwater and one 140-foot section for the entrance breakwater. Each float was 20 feet wide, with depths tailored to meet wave attenuation criteria, and the system was anchored with chain moorings.
After award, Transpac optimized the float depth and post-tensioning design, which allowed the main breakwater to be built as three 320-foot sections instead of four. This reduced fabrication lead time and helped the contractor finish the project well ahead of schedule. Transpac also developed a proprietary float-to-float connection system that allows articulation along all axes, and worked with a naval architecture firm to redesign the chain mooring system.
The complete float system was fabricated turnkey at Concrete Technology Corporation in Tacoma, Washington, and towed fully assembled to the jobsite. Deliverables included unit-to-unit connection hardware, a full-perimeter HDPE rub board, anchor chain retainers, and towing hardware designed together with the tow plan for the voyage to Ketchikan.
With 18 inches of freeboard, the breakwater reduces a 5.2-foot significant wave height to 1 foot and is designed to operate safely in winds up to 123 mph.
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